Sub menu

Main menu

Uses for Collected Rainwater

June 28, 2016

Did you know that an inch of rain that falls on a roof that is 2,000 square feet can produce as much as 1,200 gallons of runoff? This impressive amount is enough to supply all of the water needs of four people for two weeks. So, once you have collected rainwater, how do you go about using it?

Did you know that bathroom activities consume 40% of your household’s water? Flushing the toilet alone uses 5-10 liters of water for each flush, which can get quite expensive. To cut down on your water expenses and lessen environmental impact, use collected rainwater to fill your toilet. Turn off the water supply to the toilet and keep a bucket of collected rainwater handy to re-fill the toilet after flushing.

Outdoor Cleaning

Why waste drinking water to wash something that is going to get rained on anyway? Sometimes, things like the driveway, outdoor garbage cans, or even the car needs washed. In this situation, most homeowners reach for the garden house, because it is the most convenient. When you have collected rainwater on hand, however, you can easily pour rainwater in/on the area that you are trying to clean. This applies to anything- from your car to areas of your landscape. This is easily the better method to use, especially when you consider that some hoses will put out as much as 100 liters of water in as little as ten minutes.

Watering Plants

Whether your plants live inside your home or outdoors, they are going to need water to survive. Unlike humans, plants are not adapted to purified water. They will gladly drink up rainwater if you offer it. In fact, plants often thrive better when grown with rainwater, because rainwater does not contain the softeners and chemicals that typical city water does. Instead of running a garden drip or sprinkler from your hose, use rainwater on your outdoor plants. You can also use a pitcher to water the plants living inside your house.

Irrigation Drip System

One of the main reasons that people use their garden hose for watering outdoor plants is the convenience. However, you can easily create an irrigation drip system that connects to a barrel of rainwater in your garden. Check out tutorials online to learn how to create a garden drip system, there are several ideas to choose from!

Set Up a Water Purification System

Are you interested in living off of your rainwater supply for long periods, even for indoor living? Install a water purification system for your home. The rainwater would come from the collection location and run through a purifier as it is pumped into your home. A huge benefit of this is that rainwater does not contain as much salt in tap water, which reduces corrosion and lengthens the life of water heaters and plumbing pipes.

Beautification of Your Landscape

When you get creative, rainwater collecting can be a beautiful process. You can make unique rainwater collection systems, set up displays of plants, and more. If you want ideas for how to get started using rainwater to beautify your landscape, check out some online gardening tutorials. There is plenty of content to check out!

So, do you have an idea of what you want to do with your collected rainwater? Check out a few of these suggestions or call a company that can suggest the best option for you. Aerotech specializes in gutters and a quick call could not only help you start collecting rainwater, they would also be happy to give you further insights on how to make the best use of it.